36 Dishes in Boston, MA

Arthur Bovino — August 10, 2009

In The New York Times weekly column, 36 Hours, a weekend-long itinerary is given for different cities. AlwaysHungryNY.com, is taking a more culinary-focused, food-challenge approach to weekend travel with a new, occasional feature, 36 Dishes. The goal? To eat and drink a combination of 36 memorable dishes and beverages from significant places in a city during one weekend.

Left, Boston from Top of the Hub bar in the Prudential Building. Right, the Tall Ships in Boston Harbor

Today’s feature is a recap of 36 Dishes eaten in Boston over the weekend of July 10-12, when AlwaysHungryNY.com ate everywhere from the South End to Harvard Square. Our weekend of eating began on Friday night at 10:50pm, ten minutes before the Radius kitchen closes.

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AlwaysPartying: Joe & Mario’s 4th Annual Wine & Swine

Jeff Zalaznick — May 12, 2009

from left to right, Cesare Casella, Billy Gallagher, Mario Batali & Dave Gallagher slicing up the Whole Roasted Pig

Yesterday, Joe Bastianich and Mario Batali hosted their 4th Annual Springtime Wine & Swine event, at the Bastianich home in Greenwich. In addition to Mario, Michael Schlow (Radius), Cesare Casella (Salumeria Rosi), William Gallagher (Becco), Dave Pasternack (Esca), Fortunato Nicotra (Felidia), and Andy Nusser (Casa Mono & Tarry Lodge) were all making it happen in the kitchen.

The surprise guest was Schlow, who was in from Boston making his award-winning Radius Burger. Topped with cheddar, horseradish mayo and fried onions, this is unquestionably one of the finest burgers in the world. Pasternack’s Balsamic Octopus is also a gift to humanity, as it truly defines what tender octopus should taste like. The Ribeye was immaculately tender and served perfectly rare. The Pig, cooked overnight and served whole, was a revelation as well. The party was phenomenal—the weather was beautiful, the band was rocking, and excellent Wine and Swine was served all-around. Perfect Monday.

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Always Traveling: Boston’s Best Chowdah

Spencer Gellman — March 12, 2009

It started with one of those ridiculous Yahoo! Homepage teaser articles. You know the ones that usually talk about a dog who can bark the alphabet or an Icelandic woman who gave birth to her fifth set of octuplets. And while those articles are typically easily hurdled roadblocks between me and my fantasy football team, this one actually reached right through my heart strings and went straight for the decision making epicenter of my being…my stomach.

The article, entitled “It’s the Best Burger in America!,” described how the (read: horribly overrated) Shake Shack was dethroned at the 2008 South Beach Wine & Food Festival by some gourmet monstrosity hailing from Beantown known only as the Radius Burger. Intrigued and mildly aroused by the findings, I had no choice but to pile into my parent’s Toyota hybrid and go see for myself if this French Bistro known for their Duck Egg atop leeks could really bring the ruckus to the American classic.

Of course, to go all the way up to Boston just for a burger would be a perfectly good waste of time, effort and potential calories. If I was going to do this trip the AlwaysHungry way, which is pretty much how I do everything from brushing my teeth to petting my dog, I was going to make sure I checked a few more boxes off my culinary bucket list. Being in Boston, I figured there was no better objective than to figure out once and for all which local eatery yielded the best New England Clam Chowder.

After a solid 3 minutes of Googling, I compiled a list of 5 establishments in Paul Revere’s hometown that were said to have the crème de la crème of this creamy soup: The Union Oyster House, Legal Sea Foods, The Barking Crab, McCormick & Schmick’s, The Salty Dog Seafood Grill & Bar and Houston’s (yes, that Houston’s). With my food itinerary in hand, and a fresh domestic beer induced hangover in my head, I set out, determined to try at least a cup of clam chowder from each of the celebrated establishments.

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